Basic Assumptions Underlying the Substrata-Factor Theory

Holmes, Jack A.

doi:10.2307/746971

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Holmes' (1976) substrata theory and Davis ' (1944) analysis of comprehension skills were based on similar principles and techniques. Studies in cognitive psychology have in the past and will continue to add to our knowledge of the reading process.…”

Section: Relating Reading and Writing Research Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Book Reviews

Mikulecky

Mosenthal

Zutell

1986

Journal of Reading Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

I will do my best to shape a vision and refine a definition of that universal humane literacy which has eluded us so long but which represents a sane, essential, and realistic goal for a society that hopes to govern not by the mechanical and docile aquiescence of the governed but by the informed consent of those who are empowered to participate with the act of governance itself, (p. 12)The juxtaposition of these goals is a model demonstration of the strengths, ambitions, tensions, and problems inherent to this book. In places, Kozol writes clearly, insightfully, and often accurately about adult illiteracy. In the next paragraph or page, however, the pendulum of Kozol's attention is likely to swing to philosophical or political rhetoric. Kozel switches from objective presenter of information to strident political rhetoritician seemingly at will. This requires a certain wariness on the part of the reader who may not be sure when he is being given legitimate information and when he is being manipulated and persuaded.This tension between book as information provider and book as political persuader exists from the moment the reader first sets eyes on the cover. For example, a somber gray block on the red, white, and blue cover proclaims to the casual browser that "One out of every three adult Americans cannot read this book." This is accurate information and may even be conservative given Kozol's tendency to cite James Joyce, W. H. Auden, and to use 66-word sentences like the one quoted above. Less than one third of adults are college educated and this book is written for an educated audience. The cover and much of the book, however, create the inaccurate impression that illiteracy per se is rampant. Kozel claims there are 60 million illiterate American adults. This figure is within the range of "functional" and "marginal" illiterates identified in the Adult Performance Level (APL) study of the early 1970s (Northcutt, 1973). 172 Journal of Reading BehaviorAccording to most studies, including the APL, only a small fraction of these 60 million adults are "illiterate" in the commonly accepted sense of being unable to read a word. Perhaps 10% read below the World War II draft cut-off of a fourth-grade level. When Kozol highlights case studies to bring data to life and give statistics political reality, he paints poignant portraits of real suffering and real people from the bottom 10% of the 60 million adults. He creates an impression of a nation of virtual illiterates. Yet, most of these 60 million can read somewhere between fourth-and ninth-grade levels-levels that were socially acceptable a few decades ago.Because difficulty levels of reading materials on the job and throughout daily life have climbed, there is a painful gap between current literacy demands and the education levels of this fourth-to ninth-grade level group of adults. This is a major educational and social problem but one somewhat more complex than can be conveyed by a general statistic or blanket label. There are people who can justifiably be called il...

show abstract

Section: Relating Reading and Writing Research Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Book Reviews

Mikulecky

Mosenthal

Zutell

1986

Journal of Reading Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It can be said categorically that such a level of prediction has not been achieved by any of the extant models of comprehension. Holmes and Singer probably would claim that their model, being "statistically based" (Holmes, 1965), is quantified. But this claim points to the fundamental problem facing researchers who would validate comprehension models.…”

Section: Predictionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Barrett (1968) aims at setting out the instructional objectives necessary to teach comprehension, while Kingston (1961) is concerned with illustrating some of the external influences which can affect comprehension. The models of Rystrom (1970), McCullough (1968), Cleland (1966), Stauffer (1969, and Holmes (1954Holmes ( , 1962Holmes ( , 1965 and Singer (1965) all attempt to illustrate the cognitive operations involved in comprehension. Spache (1963) and Smith (1960) combine overt skills and covert cognitive operations in their models, while Carver (1971) conceives comprehension in terms of information processing.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

An Evaluative Summary of Models of Reading Comprehension

Harker¹

1972

Journal of Reading Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Models of reading comprehension are evaluated as to their utility in facilitating research in comprehension. The criteria employed are: Articulation, Differentiation, Prediction, Creativity, and Flexibility. The models are evaluated as models in the abstract since many models of "comprehension" in fact attempt to explain diffefsnt phenomena, thereby preventing direct comparisons. Models of comprehension vary considerably in the extent to which they meet each of the criteria. The value of models in the investigation of comprehension lies in their capacity to provide testable hypotheses which can lead to scientific prediction and understanding. However, models of comprehension remain untested and therefore limited in the degree to which they have facilitated the scientific understanding of comprehension.Fifteen models of reading comprehension represent those presently in existence. The common characteristic of these models is that each has been constructed in an attempt to explain how a reader gains meaning from the act of reading. Kingston (1961) was among the first to recognize the value of models in facilitating research into the nature of comprehension. Since that time, there has been a proliferation of models of comprehension. The purpose of this discussion is to evaluate these models in an attempt to determine the extent to which they represent viable instruments for research into the nature of reading comprehension.Ideally, all models of comprehension would approach the question of understanding comprehension in a similar manner. Unfortunately, this situation does not prevail. The model of Gray (1960) and Robinson (1966) is essentially concerned with the skills necessary for effective comprehension. Barrett (1968) aims at setting out the instructional objectives necessary to teach comprehension, while Kingston (1961) is concerned with illustrating some of the external influences which can affect comprehension. The models of all attempt to illustrate the cognitive operations involved in comprehension. Spache (1963) and Smith (1960) combine overt skills and covert cognitive operations in their models, while Carver (1971) conceives comprehension in terms of information processing. The models of Goodman (1970), Venezky and * Dr. Harker is on the Faculty

show abstract

“…This intuitive insight is elaborated in theoretical terms by Holmes (1965) and Singer (1960Singer ( ,1976aSinger ( , 1976b as the substrata factor theory of reading. (For a similar approach see Strang, 1978.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Relationship between Reading Proficiency And two types of Classificatory Ability

Turner

Scullion²,

Whyte³

1984

Journal Research in Reading

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The object of this investigation was to assess the validity of the emphasis placed by the substrata factor theory on the importance of classification in the process of learning to read. From an initial pool of 59 boys of similar working‐class background and a mean age of 15.69 years, attending secondary schools in Belfast, Northern Ireland, two groups of 12 were selected. One group was identified as a‘normal reader’group; the other as a‘poor reader’group. The classificatory ability of the two groups was assessed by two tasks. The first was a free sort task, which tested the subjects’use of conceptual and idiosyncratic grouping strategies in their recall of pictorial stimuli. The second was the associative grouping task, which measured the subjects’use of superordination. The results of both tasks showed a positive correlation between reading proficiency and classificatory ability in support of the substrata factor theory. The pattern of correlations obtained lends some support to the view that reading disability is associated with a poorly integrated network‘of abilities. Differences in scores between good and poor readers on the free sort task were not as marked as might be expected from earlier research, and explanations for this discrepancy are suggested. RÉSUMÉ Cette enquête tentait d'estimer la validité d'insistance placée par la Substrata Factor Theory de lecture sur l'importance aceordée aux habilités de classification pendant l'apprentissage de la lecture. La sélection et l'organisation de stimulants symboliques en unités, et leur réduction en catégories moins nombreuses pour diminuer la tension cognitive et faciliter l'apprentissage, sont jugés d'assister l'acquisition de la lecture aussi bien que le fonctionnement cognitif général. Des concepts sont construits par le lecteurs et combinés et coördinés à différents niveaux afin de faciliter la vitesse et l'efficacité de lecture. Des problémes peuvent surgir si une ou plusieurs zones d'habilité sont déficientes et si cela implique le retardement du développement d'autres habilités dépendant des ces habilités. l'étude en question a examiné la relation entre la lecture et la capacité de classifier conceptuellement. Cependant, il est reconnu que la retardation est due, pas simplement par faiblesse en une zone particuliére, mais par manque d'intégration entre des zones d'habilité. D'une équipe initiale de 59 garçons de milieu prolétarien, et d'âge moyen de 15, 59 ans, allant á des écoles secondaires á Belfast, Irlande du Nord, deux groupes de 12 furent sélectionnés. Un groupe fut identifié comme groupe de‘Lecteur Normal’; l'autre comme groupe de‘Lecteur Médiocre’. Les groupes étaient différents de manière significative en ce qui concerne l'habilité de lecture, mais non en ce qui concerne l'intelligence comme mesurée par le Raven's Progressive Matrices. Deux tâches experimentelles furent données individuellement à chaque sujet. La première était une tâehe de libre sorte (‘free sort task’) qui testait l'emploi fait par le sujet de stratégies de groupage...

show abstract

Basic Assumptions Underlying the Substrata-Factor Theory

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

An Evaluative Summary of Models of Reading Comprehension

Relationship between Reading Proficiency And two types of Classificatory Ability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About